Obama to police: Dallas shooting was a 'hate crime'

President Barack Obama on Monday described the Dallas shooting as a "hate crime" against police, according to a top law enforcement representative in the meeting with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

“One really striking thing the president said in his opening remarks was that the shooting in Dallas in many ways was strikingly parallel to the Dylann Roof shooting in Charleston in the sense that it was a hate crime,” said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, in an interview with POLITICO.

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During the nearly two-hour session, Obama told Pasco and seven other police association officials that if Micah Johnson were still alive, he would have been prosecuted for a hate crime, “which is quite a precedent from our standpoint,” Pasco said. Hate crime prosecutions are seen as a recognition that victims were targeted because of their race, religion, or some other characteristic, and they can carry greater penalties.

Pasco, who has been critical of the administration’s tone toward police, said he “very much” appreciated the remark.

“At the end of the meeting I asked him to reiterate that publicly,” Pasco said.

The meeting, which included groups representing both rank-and-file officers and chiefs, was originally planned by Biden, but Obama, who cut his trip to Spain short after five police officers were fatally shot in Dallas, decided to join at the last minute on Monday. Obama will be joined by Biden and former President George W. Bush on Tuesday, when he speaks at a memorial service for the slain officers.

On Wednesday, he’ll gather law enforcement officials and policing reform activists to discuss ways to jumpstart the reforms outlined by a White House task force last year. Some officers have perceived Obama as siding with movements like Black Lives Matter over the police, especially in the wake of high-profile police-involved shootings like those in Minnesota and Louisiana last week.

“The president and vice president wanted to hear directly from law enforcement officials about their ideas on best practices for building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” said the White House in a readout of Monday’s gathering. The statement said they discussed implementing the task force reforms, as well as “ways to support officer training in safely deescalating confrontations and systems to ensure the safety and wellness of those who protect all of us. The president recognized the importance of their continued partnership and emphasized his commitment to finding solutions to enhance public safety and reduce tensions between officers and the communities they serve.”

White House Counsel Neil Eggleston and Domestic Policy Council director Cecelia Munoz also attended, according to the White House.

The White House declined to comment beyond the readout.

Pasco said Obama expressed openness to looking into the new restrictions on local law enforcement’s use of military surplus gear, like armored vehicles and grenade launchers. According the Pasco, the ballistic helmet that saved an Orlando officer during the Pulse nightclub attack is one of the restricted items, and others have legitimate uses for local police, Pasco said.

While there’s still skepticism about Obama’s support for police, Pasco said, Biden is the “lynchpin” who brings law enforcement and the administration together. Pasco, for example, said he’s known Biden since the 1980s, long before they worked together on the crime bill in the mid-1990s.

“We trust him,” Pasco said of Biden.

According to the White House, Biden committed to reconvening the officers, as well as community leaders, for “ongoing consultation.”